Police: Welsh man traveled to Oregon to have sex with 10-year-old girl

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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Police arrested a 22-year-old Welsh man accused of traveling to Eugene, Oregon, to have sex with a 10-year-old girl he met through an online chat program.

The Eugene Register-Guard reports that 22-year-old Gareth Hall is charged with rape, sodomy and kidnapping. At a press conference Thursday, Eugene police Detective Jed McGuire said Hall is a lifeguard at a swimming pool in the U.K. and has regular access to children.

He says investigators hope to learn why he traveled so far to meet the Eugene girl last month.

McGuire says Hall and the girl spoke for two months before Hall’s visit to the United States. Hall allegedly picked the girl up in a rental car and took her to a hotel.